


The Universe Works In Weird Ways

by Lacy_Star



Category: Be More Chill - Iconis/Tracz
Genre: Alcohol, Internalized Homophobia, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Soulmate AU, Soulmate-First Words
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2020-08-19 18:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,157
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20214553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lacy_Star/pseuds/Lacy_Star
Summary: In a world where the first words your soulmate says to you are printed across your arm, the students of Middleborough experience finding their soulmates one by one, sometimes in unanticipated ways. That's life, they guess.(AKA: a very incomplete fic of one-shots with different pairings in this soulmate AU basically)DISCONTINUED.





	1. Richjake - Familiarity

“Why are we at Sephora?” 

Rich generally didn’t classify going to a makeup store as something popular kids did, but that was one of the first things his squip instructed him to do. And Rich had no reason to argue- if this meant he’d finally become popular- become _noticed_, he’d do it.

**You know not to speak to me out loud, Richard.**

_ Yeah, yeah. Sorry. What if a girl sees me here and thinks I’m weird, though? _

**Small price to pay for what we’re saving you from.**

_ Which is…? _

**Your foundation shade is “pearl.” You can find it on the shelf to the right.**

Rich rolled his eyes at the blunt avoidance of the question. He located the makeup quickly, took it to the counter, paid, and started to head home.

_ Is this gonna be for hickeys or something? _

**Perhaps in the future. For now it will serve another purpose. When you’re home I need you to find a Sharpie marker. Your father should be asleep so the coast should be clear. You already knew that, though.**

Rich did. Years of tiptoeing around that schedule made it hard to forget. Rich arrived home shortly and easily snuck past his snoring dad. He grabbed a sharpie off the kitchen counter and darted up the stairs to his room.

“What’s happening, chief?” Rich asked aloud, because he was alone now so talking to himself was acceptable.

**Your soulmark. We need to hide it.**

Rich’s throat tightened a little. “... What?”  
  
**It interferes with your rise to popularity. We, thankfully, can manipulate this. Spread some foundation over it until you can’t see it.**

Rich begrudgingly sat down and popped the cap on the foundation, squirting some on his hand. He hesitated before spreading it on his arm.

_ “Hey, you look familiar.” _

That was the sentence written in clean, neat script across his arm. He’d spent so much time staring at those four words that it became as second nature as a phone password to him.

Many people didn’t believe in soulmates, or didn’t care, or found it stupid. Rich had pinned so much hope on his that it was ridiculous. There wasn’t much else you could do when you were in his situation. Anything that seemed like a new opportunity was good. Besides, the concept that someone could love him like that, was _destined_ to, was one of the only things that got him through, sometimes. It made him feel less alone.

**Pathetic.**

“... What?”

**You are pathetic. Soulmates are simply distractions from yourself. However, when utilized in the way we shall, it can be beneficial.**

“Wait… if my soulmate interferes with everything, does that mean she goes to my school?”

**Spread the foundation on your arm, Richard.**

Rich sighed, taking that as a yes, and spread the makeup over the words until they’d disappeared. He was surprised at how natural yet weird it looked. He couldn’t imagine what it would look like to have no writing on his arm his whole life.

“What now?”  
  
**Your handwriting is horrible, and I shall therefore be taking control over your arm to write.**

“... I’m sorry, you’re gonna _what?_”

Rich watched, transfixed, as his arm moved beyond his control. It was an almost uncomfortable sensation as he uncapped the marker and brought it down on his other arm. He started to write in perfect script, as if he were a machine that engraved names on dog tags.

The squip finished writing. The new soulmark read,_ “Good to meet you! Jenna told me all about you.”_

“Wait… we’re gonna-”

**Change your soulmate.**  
  
“Trick someone into making them think I’m their soulmate?"

**It is late and you need to get some rest. Put away the rest of the clothes we bought today. We will dye your hair and then go to bed.**

“But what about my _real_ soulmate?” Rich insisted, “How will she know-”  
  
**She will not. Small price to pay for the end results.**  
  
“But I love her-”

A sharp feeling jolted through Rich. He yelped.

“What the fuck!?”  
**  
I shocked you. You do not love any such person and nobody loves you, Richard. You are in love with words on your arm. You know nothing of her and if things continue the way they are, she will know nothing of you. Nobody will. You will remain unloved for the rest of your life if you do not listen to me. Have I made myself clear?**

Rich was still trying to get over the fact that he’d just been _shocked_\- he didn't know it could do_ that._ The rest of what the squip said just felt like more punches to the gut.

Another shock. Rich was crying.

** _Have I made myself clear?_ **

Rich frantically nodded, wiping at the tears and standing up to put his new clothes away. “Yes, miss.”

**Good. Now hurry. Sophomore year won’t wait for you.**

The rest of the night passed in a blur. Rich reassured himself he would be fine, even if he didn’t recognize himself in the mirror. This was all for the better, anyways.

* * *

**Back straight. Jenna Rolan is in the commons. She’s our ticket, and we must make a good first impression, aren’t I right?**

Rich agreed in his mind, taking wide strides down the hall. Nobody was staring in awe or whispering about him yet, but he was catching a few eyes. This was an immediate improvement, he thought, grinning despite himself.

Jenna was a hard person to miss and Rich located her easily. 

_Just walk up to her?_

**Correct. Remember to smile!**

“Hey,” Rich called out.

Jenna, who was leaning against a cafeteria table, looked up at him and cocked an eyebrow. She was frowning a little.

**"Do you know where Morecock’s class is?"**

“Do you have any idea where Morecock’s class is? Sorry to bother you.”

Jenna stared at him for a second before pointing somewhere to a hall to the left. “Over there. End of the hall. Can’t miss it.”

**Thank her. Notice how she’s upset and ask what’s wrong.**

“Thanks!” Rich forced a sympathetic look onto his face, which wasn’t too hard, and continued. “Hey, are you okay? You look kinda down.”

Jenna gave him a surprised look. It took her a moment to respond. “Yeah, I… Just kinda got into an argument with a friend, is all.”

**You’re doing good. Be apologetic.**

“That always sucks. I’m sorry to hear that,” Rich said with a gentle smile.

**Jenna is often brushed off by her peers once gossip is extracted from her. The argument was likely her trying to get involved further in a conversation she wasn’t wanted in.**

_ That sucks… I feel bad for her... _

**Don’t get too attached.**

_What?_

**Once you’re above her, you’ll be ignoring her like everyone else.**

Rich was about to object, but then Jenna asked, “Are you new here? I feel like I haven’t seen you before.”

**Yes. You’re nervous about not knowing people.**

This wasn’t new information- the squip had explained that Rich’s alabi would be the new kid. “Yeah. Don’t really know what to expect. Kinda nervous, honestly, since I don’t know anyone..”

Jenna gave a thorough inspection of him, then offered, “We have an extra seat at our lunch table, if you want to sit with us.

Rich was actually stunned into silence.

_ How... _

**Accept!**

“Seriously? That’s awesome! You rock, Jenna.”

Then Rich remembered he was a new kid who wasn’t supposed to know her name.

**Not to worry. Say she’s talked about a lot.**

“Um…?” Jenna gave him a look.  
  
“I’ve heard a lot about you!” Rich blurted for an explanation. “You seem cool.”

Jenna actually blushed and Rich felt a swell of pride in himself. “Oh! Thank you!”  
  
“Uh… See you at lunch then?” Rich asked, rocking on his heels.

“Yeah! We sit near the middle.” Jenna pointed to a table in the center of the commons. “We’re hard to miss. Jake is really loud, honestly.”

Rich nodded. “Got it. Later.”

Jenna waved at him and he and headed off to his class, fistpumping the air once he was a safe distance away.

_ That was awesome! How did that work!? _

**You just showed more interest in Jenna than she’s experienced from all her friends combined in the past week. She was bound to like you.**

Rich’s mood dropped.

_ … Jesus. And I’m really gonna have to ignore her soon? _

**Correct. It won’t matter. She’s used to it.**

That wasn’t comforting, but rich brushed it off. He had a date with the popular kids at lunch, and if that wasn’t something to be excited about then nothing was. He would trust the squip’s judgement if it worked more wonders like that. He had to!

* * *

**Relax. Everything is going to be fine. Chin up. Walk up to them like you’ve been sitting there your entire life.**

Rich took a deep breath and walked towards the popular kids. Jenna noticed him first and greeted him with a smile and wave before turning back to her friends.

“He’s here!”

Three more heads turned to him. Chloe Valentine looked him up and down with almost-distaste. Brooke Lohst had a kind smile, which was reassuring. And Jake Dillinger’s face was unreadable, to say the least.

“Hi. You’re new.” Chloe stated.

“Yeah. I, uh…”

**Ask for confirmation that it is okay to sit at their table.**

“It’s cool that I’m sitting here, right?”

Chloe stared him down for another minute before turning back to her phone and sighing, “I guess we can pity you for a day or two.”

Brooke smiled at Rich apologetically and piped up, “Good to meet you! Jenna told me all about you.”

Rich didn’t realize that was what his new soulmark read as, because it wasn’t his real soulmark, after all. It was only when the squip spoke that he realized what was happening.

**Repeat exactly after me- _exactly:_ “Hey. You look absolutely lovely today.”**

“Hey. You look absolutely lovely today.”

Then Brooke’s eyes went wide. She froze. Chloe’s head snapped up and Jake furrowed his brow.

Then Rich realized.

**Show your arm to her.**

_Wait… is she…?_

Rich did as instructed, showing the exact sentence she’d said to him scrawled across his arm. Brooke managed to unfreeze long enough to roll up her cardigan sleeve and show her soulmark, which, surprise surprise, read: _”Hey. You look absolutely lovely today.”_

“Oh my god,” Chloe mumbled, breaking the silence.

_OH MY GOD,_ Rich thought.

**This is Brooke Lohst. She is going to be your soulmate. I hope you find her bearable, because it is likely you will be stuck with her for a long time.**

_ But she’s so pretty and popular!? _

**Exactly. Perfect, isn’t it?**

Jenna was tapping away at her phone, probably about to broadcast this new information to the world, Rich figured.

**Indeed she is. This will be good for you. See- there are many methods of becoming popular. The one which is often the easiest, or the hardest, is to become popular by association. Until we have your persona solidified, Brooke will be your stepping stone to the top and you will be known as “Brooke Lohst’s soulmate” for a while. Get used to that title, but do not worry. We will rise above that.**

_ Oh my God... _

Rich snapped back out of it. Brooke was frantically combing her fingers through her hair to give herself an instant makeover. Her face bloomed red as Chloe patted crumbs off of her shirt. She was trying to make herself presentable for _him,_ Rich realized.

_But she’s not my real soulmate… Who’s her’s? Who’s_ mine?

**Both of those pieces of information would simply distract you. Time to flatter. “You’re even more beautiful than I imagined.”**

Rich cleared his throat. “Wow. You’re... even more beautiful than I imagined.”

Brooke seemed like she was trying not to overheat, and Rich would admit that the fact he did that to a girl_ did_ make him a little prideful.

“You- you’re shorter than I imagined!” Brooke giggled, standing up to meet him. “Oh my gosh- this is like, crazy. I’m so sorry-”

**Ask her on a date to Pinkberry after school.**

“Yeah… hey… do you wanna go to Pinkberry after school so we can get to know each other?”

Brooke stared at him for a moment before frantically trying to fan herself off with a hand. She was cute, Rich would admit. “Oh my gosh, you really are made for me. I love Pinkberry.”

**Get ready for lots of frozen yogurt in this relationship.**

_ You say that as if it’s a bad thing. _

Brooke was frantically nodding. “I would love that, oh my gosh…”

**Take her hand. Sit down next to her.**

Rich slowly grabbed her hand, which made his heart beat really fast because no girl had ever let him do that before, and guided her back to her seat. “It’s a date then.”

The rest of lunch the two of them were left unbothered. Everyone seemed to be letting the new soon-to-be couple small talk. Rich kept up his new kid lie (“I guess it’s a good thing we moved if I ended up meeting you!”), Brooke was all sheepish smiles and twirling a lock of hair around a finger, and the cycle went on until lunch ended. Rich knew that Jenna must have been making quick work about him because other tables were _definitely_ staring at him.

_ I kinda feel bad… isn’t this manipulating Brooke? _

**Aren’t you _finally_ the talk of the school? Isn’t this what you wanted?**

Rich sighed and picked at a fry.

Lunch ended eventually and Brooke gave a flustered goodbye before grabbing Chloe and dragging her to their next class, squealing the whole way.

Jenna stood up and looked at Rich. “Welcome,” she stated before turning and disappearing into the crowd of students.

_ Welcome…? _

**To your new life.**

And yeah, that made Rich a little stoked.

Rich was about to leave when he turned and saw Jake, who he hadn’t even spoken to all lunch. Jake was still staring at him as if he were a puzzle.

**You absolutely_ must_ remain calm through this next conversation.**

_ What? Why? _

But then Jake said, “Hey, you look familiar.”

It didn’t register at first. Rich was more shocked at the observation than the sentence. This was the first time he was meeting Jake as _himself,_ so there was no way Jake could remember pathetic him from freshman year, right?

So stupidly, Rich asked, “...I do?”

Then it hit.

_ “Hey, you look familiar.” _

The _real_ sentence hidden on his arm.

Jake’s eyes were wide for a moment, but then he laughed. “Sorry. I guess that’s a pretty common phrase… Besides, you already found yours’.”

“... Huh?” Rich's eyes went wide.

A shock. He jolted up.

**Pull yourself together.**

Jake pulled down his sleeve, and written across his arm were two simple words._ “... I do?”_

Rich’s throat went tight. The world veered violently off track.

_ … Is Jake? _

**You are not gay, Richard.**

_ Right. But- _

**Recover. This is merely a coincidence. Say you understand and you’re shocked that Brooke is your soulmate. Ask him where his next class is.**

“That’s rough, man,” Rich started, frantically trying to search for words. There was no way Jake Dillinger was his soulmate. “I had no idea Brooke would be mine until like, twenty minutes ago. Kinda trying to recover from that.” Jake laughed. It wasn’t wholehearted. This wasn’t how Rich imagined his first conversation with the jock would end up going.

Rich continued, trying to break the awkward silence. “Um… what class do you have next?”  
  
“Oh, uh, English.”

“Me too. What teacher?”

“Jameson.”  
  
**Ask if he wants to sit with you, not if you can sit by him.**

_ … Does that phrasing really matter? _

**Absolutely.**

“Me too. Do you want to sit with me?”

Jake stared at him in that same, puzzled way as before. But, after a moment, he nodded. “Sure.”

They made their way to class and Jake rambled on about the frisbee golf team and got really into it. His eyes lit up and he explained the (weird) sport with sound effects and all.

It was almost adorable, Rich thought. Whoever Jake’s soulmate was would be lucky.

* * *

The two years that followed would be a blur of parties, making out with Brooke, gossip and homework. 

Also a sexuality crisis. That happened too.

Because no matter how many times his squip denied it, no matter how many times Rich tried to convince himself he was straight, the soulmarks matched and that was that. 

Plus it was hard to not notice things about Jake like his perfect colgate smile and toned arms and dorky laugh. How he could ramble about whatever new extracurricular he was caught up in for the week or how he would always lend a shoulder for his friends to cry on. _Everyone_ at school wanted him.

**But not you.**

Right.

Truth be told, Rich was glad that his squip paired him with Brooke. She was beautiful, sweet, nice, and popular enough to work in his favor. It wasn’t Chloe or anyone mean like that. Brooke made it easy to pretend. She was easy to trust and good enough to even make Rich convince himself that he liked her a little bit.

But as soon as he thought to himself, “Chilling with Brooke forever would be rad,” Jake would bound up to Rich with bright eyes and show him a picture of a dog on his phone, and looking between the dog and Jake was like a spot-the-difference game and who _doesn’t_ love puppies and who _doesn’t_ love Jake Dillinger in maybe a slightly gay way- especially if he was maybe possibly probably Rich’s real soulmate-

Shock. 

**He can’t be your soulmate. You’re not gay.**

Right. He wasn’t.

The rinse and repeat went on for nearly two years. Writing the same sentence over the true one day after day to the point Rich could probably do it himself if the squip let him. Still, sometimes in class he’d look down at his arm and miss the original four words that had given himself a sense of hope for so many years. It felt empty. Jake made him feel full though. Jake made everything better.

* * *

There was one night when Rich was staying over at Jake’s house and Jake subsequently fell asleep on his shoulder halfway through their viewing of Airbud. His face was slack and calm, and though it was dark in Jake’s house the light from the screen illuminated his face like a piece of pop-art. There was a blanket wrapped over the two of them and that combined with Jake’s pure body heat made Rich feel so warm and comfortable. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from Jake.

**Move him off.**

_No._

Rich, spur of the moment, rushed to grab the beer Jake was drinking and slammed it. Some spilled on his shirt and arms, but it did the trick. He hated alcohol, but he was not going to move Jake no matter what. It would be rude to wake him, he reasoned.

The squip disappeared, its complaints vanishing. It was quiet.

Rich sighed and let himself rest his head against Jake’s, appreciating the warm feeling. He was sticky from the beer but he hardly cared.

Jake was his soulmate. He really couldn’t lie to himself. Stuff like that didn’t happen by coincidence and Rich was… gay? Or something. He could admit to himself that sure, Jake was hot shit and the squip saying otherwise was annoying. The squip keeping him from his soulmate was annoying. He always told himself that his soulmate would love him no matter what, but the squip said that if Rich disobeyed Jake would never like him. So what was true?

He tried not to worry about it, just appreciated the moment and slowly drifted off.

  
They woke up a few hours later- it had already been early into the morning when they’d fallen asleep- and as Rich stirred there was a faint buzzing in the back of his head. The squip was trying to come back on. Rich reached for another beer and nursed a few sips to shut it up. He didn’t want it to ruin the moment.

Jake slowly stirred and flushed red at the fact he was nearly on top of Rich (Rich found this reaction both adorable and concerning with the “no homo” Jake stuttered out). He backed off and rubbed at an eye, blinking in the faint light. Rich found his messy bedhead more adorable than he should’ve.

They broke open a pack of Oreos for “breakfast” and got caught in idle conversation. Rich liked his other friends alright, but talking always came easier when it was with Jake, even if by the squip’s instruction. Rich was aware he was lisping like crazy but hoped Jake would play it off as him just being tired. Besides, Jake was doing most of the talking anyways.

“My fursona would be an Animal Jam horse.” Jake finished his thought with a definite nod.

“Why not a normal horse?”  
  
“Haven’t you played Animal Jam? There’s a _clear_ difference, dude.”

“But why!?” Rich laughed, scratching at the back of the neck.

Jake smirked, about to respond when he froze. “Woah, dude… your arm.”  
  
“What?”

Rich brought his arm down and felt his stomach drop.

The writing on his arm was smudged, garbled between the original soulmark and the one Rich had sharpied over. In his attempt to shut off the squip and spilling on himself, not only had he forgotten to redo it but he’d messed it up.

Jake grabbed his arm and inspected it. Rich was too paralyzed to move.

“I’ve never seen one do that before,” Jake muttered, mystified.

“Haha, yeah. Weird…”

“Wait… hold on.” Jake squinted and licked a finger before attempting to scrub the makeup off.

Rich ripped his arm away, “Dude!”

“It looks different.”  
  
Panicking and being stupid, Rich blurted, “I’ve gotta go-” Which is the exact thing one should _not_ say in that situation, because it confirms something shady is going on and he was leaving so nobody would find out.

“Rich,” Jake said sternly. Rich decided he didn’t like that tone. It was too serious for Jake.

“Drop it. _Please._”

Jake furrowed his brow and stared back down at Rich’s arms. “Did… did you write over your’s? Is Brooke not your soulmate?”

“Jake, stop-”

Jake was dragging him to the bathroom. Rich was small and strong. It would be easy for him to slip away and leave. It would have been so easy.

But Rich didn’t.

Maybe because he was too tired to find the energy after just waking up. Maybe because he was tired of his squip controlling his life. Maybe because he missed seeing the original soulmark. Maybe because he wanted Jake to know. Maybe because he hoped Jake would know and kiss him or whatever. He was a little gay. Sue him.

But he watched as Jake dragged him into the bathroom, turned on the sink, and scrubbed his arm red. It was like a scratch off lottery ticket, except the surprise was “hey! We’re destined to be together!”

Once it was off enough to see the original message. Jake stared down at Rich’s arm. He had the same puzzled look he’d given Rich the day they’d met.

Then- a matter of fact, not a question: “It’s me.”

Rich pretended not to know. “What do you mean, man?”

“I didn’t forget Rich. You said mine and I never forgot what I said to you because I… I just didn’t forget.”

_ Well shit. _  
  
Rich hung his head, staring at the cold tile floor. “You’re not gay,” He said, as if that were an excuse.

There was a stretch of silence before Jake said, “I was so disappointed it wasn’t you.”

Rich’s head snapped up. “What?”

“I mean, I wasn’t disappointed right away. I mean I was, but like, not because it wasn’t _you_, just because I hadn’t found my soulmate. But then I _was_ disappointed it wasn’t you after I got to know you. Does that make sense?”

Rich stared at him blankly.

“I’ve been having a gay crisis over you for like a year, bro,” Jake paraphrased.

“Oh.”

Jake liked him back. That much registered.

Rich’s heart started hammering.

“Uh- me too. For you.” Rich stuttered honestly.

Then, the dreaded question. “... Then why did you lie? Did you know it was me when you came in sophmore year? Did I do something freshman year to make you-”

“I didn’t go here freshman year.”  
  
“Yeah, you did. I had a locker near you.”

_Double shit._

“How did you know what Brooke would say to you? Why would you lie to her like that? You _knew_ I was your soulmate?”

Maybe because he was too tired to find the energy after just waking up. Maybe because he was tired of his squip controlling his life. Maybe because it felt good to indulge in a two year life-altering secret. Maybe because he wanted Jake to know. Maybe because he hoped Jake would understand and love him and kiss him. He was very gay. Sue him.

Either way, Rich didn’t lie. He just said, “There’s a supercomputer in my brain that’s been controlling me since sophomore year to help me be popular, and I think it’s homophobic and wouldn’t let me date you.”

“How do we shut it off?”

Rich blinked. That was too easy. “Wait, what? You believe me?”

“Sometimes you jump like you're shocked, or you stare off into space, or you start to say something and cut yourself off and say something entirely different. I knew something was going on with you, my brobot.”

“Bro.. robot?”

“That’s what I said. How do we shut it off?”

Rich just blinked and took in the situation. Had he really been so transparent that whole time? Jake believed his robot story? Jake liked him back? _Brobot?_

“Mountain Dew Red. That’s… what my dealer said," Rich got out after a minute, "But Jake I don’t know if turning it off is a good-”

“If it’s not gonna let me date the shit out of you then you shouldn’t have it, dude.”

“You wouldn’t want to date me if I didn’t have it-”

“What makes you think that?”  
  
Rich laughed sourly. “Jake, I’m nothing like the person you’ve been friends with.”  
  
“You’re probably better,” Jake stated in a tone that made even Rich believe it.

The buzzing was back. It was angry. Rich didn’t want it back. He was so tired of it. He was so tired of everything. All he wanted was to go back to the couch with Jake and maybe cuddle there like they had been that morning.

“I need alcohol if we’re gonna do this,” Rich explained quickly, “It temporarily shuts it off- if I don’t it’ll stop me. I’m kinda tipsy right now but it’s wearing off.”

“Wait, seriously?”

“Hammer me right now,” Rich ordered. Except wait, that wasn’t right <strike>(it was, but Rich wouldn’t admit that)</strike>\- “I mean, uh, get me hammered. Right now.”

Which made Jake laugh, which lightened the mood. But then he winked and said, “Later.”

Rich nearly combusted.

Rich had never been drunk before. He always avoided drinking after seeing what it turned his dad into, but that night was an exception. Being drunk was a _hell_ of an experience. As Jake scoured Ebay for Mountain Dew Red, Rich giggled and made commentary on the Air Buddies christmas special. It was distracting Jake from his task, but it made him laugh which was worth it.

Once the credits rolled, Rich mused, “I can’t believe you remembered me from freshman year.”

“I can’t believe you ate a computer because you thought nobody would.”

Silence.

“Hey Jake?”

“Hm?”

“Can I kiss you?”

Jake looked at him. For a moment, he seriously considered, looked almost tempted. But then he shook his head. “Maybe once this is all sorted.”  
  
“Oh. Okay…”

Silence.

Rich spoke again. “Jake?”

“Hm?”  
  
“I love you.”  
  
“I love you too, Rich.”

* * *

“But it could’ve totally been made up! A personality disorder that made Richard Parker the extension of Pi’s self he needed to overcome and survive. An outlet.”  
  
“That’s so _boring_,” Jake argued, “I read it and read about a tiger, so I want a fucking tiger!”  
  
“But that’s so unrealistic!”

Sophomore year Rich would’ve never been having that conversation with Jake. He wouldn’t have been able to geek out about literature like that. But sophomore Rich was no more.

Trains zoomed by in front of them as Rich and Jake sat on a bench in the subway. Winter break had just kicked off and they were off to go up to New York and see the ball drop. Jake could afford it and Rich wasn’t going to pass up his boyfriend’s offer to come along.

Rich, now allowed to love English unapologetically, had been horrified when Jake revealed he’d Spark-noted his way through Life of Pi in his freshman year and had never truly read it. He’d bought Jake the book as soon as possible and the latter had just recently finished it.

“I don’t care if it’s unrealistic. That’s the book, so that’s the book,” Jake finished his argument.

“Whatever you say, babe,” Rich sighed, letting the argument die and leaning his head on Jake’s shoulder.

Lights flashed as another train whisked past. Rich envied it.

“I cannot wait until we graduate and can get on a train and like… not come back,” Rich sighed, playing with the fingers on Jake’s idle hand.

Jake hummed sympathetically, eyes distant. “Soon.”

“That’s gonna be my New Year’s resolution;” Rich decided, “To leave. With you, of course.”  
  
Jake smiled a little. “Soon.”  
  
“Now.” Rich mumbled as their train pulled up and they were forced to stand up.

They boarded quickly. It was fairly empty inside, save for an old lady asleep and her grandkid playing on an iPad and another man scrolling through his phone. 

“Hey,” Jake said, with a smirk, “You look familiar.”

Rich turned to him, confused. “I do?”

“Yeah. What’s a 5-foot-5 boy like you doing on a train around here at 12 AM?”

Then Rich smiled, buying into the joke. “Same at you. Not the 5-foot-5 part, though.”

“Just a city boy,” Jake started, “born and raised in South Detroit-” Rich smacked his arm and cackled, cutting him off.

The doors to the train slid shut and they jolted forward. Rich yelped and stumbled forward, as he wasn’t holding onto the handlebar like a civil human. Jake caught him, though, because Jake always caught him.

Rich smirked up at him. “Well, stranger, what are we gonna do about the fact that we’re destined to be together?”  
  
Jake grinned and connected their lips.

Rich wasn’t expecting to spend the whole subway ride to New York making out with someone, but the universe worked in weird ways, he supposed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY ARI!!!! I'd kinda been planning to write this for a while but I thought it would be nice to surprise you with. I hope you liked it!!!!! <3
> 
> Come request what pairing you want to see in this fic next at [my Tumblr!](https://lacystar.tumblr.com)


	2. IGNORE THIS- PLACEHOLDER CHAPTER- IGNORE THIS

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA REAL CHAPTER WILL BE HERE SOON AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

**Author's Note:**

> Come request what pairing you want to see in this fic next at [my Tumblr!](https://lacystar.tumblr.com)


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